Chill Bike

Just unveiled at the TED2009 conference, the Mission One from Mission Motors, a hi-tech California startup company, building what is about to be the world's fastest production electric motorcycle. How fast? 150 mph. Range? 150 miles. Torque? 100 foot pounds, instantly available whether you're standing still or cruising at 60 mph, no gears, just roll it on .The game has just changed. Mission Motors, working under the radar as Hum Cycles, has been quietly developing their motorcycle for 2 years. Last year, a Ducati converted to electric power began showing up on the back roads of California. This was their prototype, undergoing extensive testing and a few lucky riders got a chance to sample the performance of the bike coming back amazed by what they had just experienced. Forrest North, co-founder of Mission Motors, began dreaming of building an electric motorcycle when leading the Solar Car Team at Stanford University. The dream continued, even as he joined Tesla Motors to help engineer the company’s cutting-edge battery pack. In 2007, Forrest launched Mission Motors with the help of Edward West and Mason Cabot. Their mission: Build an electric motorcycle that could finally compete with gasoline. They've assembled a top notch team: Dan Kaplan - CFO at Ducati North America from 2003 - 2006, Jeremy Cleland - AFM Racer & Product Mgr at Ducati NA, graduates from Cal Tech, Stanford, Virginia, Dartmouth, and MIT plus Engineers from Ford, Tesla, Google, IDEO, Intel, and Agilent

The Mission One is the closest thing yet to a no compromise electric motorcycle. Excellent performance, excellent range, zero emissions and quiet The throttle can be programmed by the rider for the most suitable response, how far it must turn for a given level of acceleration and how much regenerative braking on roll off. The production bikes will have what the engineers believe to be a best initial setting but owners will most likely tweak it as their experience increases. The question some of you might have is how long to recharge? Electric motorcycles have 3 criteria of interest for many of you: performance, range and recharge time. Recharge is about 2 hours at 240 volts, 8 hours from a standard 120 volt outlet. With 240 volts, you can get roughly an 80% charge in 1 hour. Once you have the range, recharge is less of an issue, though 150 miles may not be touring bike territory, it certainly covers a large percentage of daily riding requirements and plugging in when you get home, the bike will be ready to go the next day or in a couple of hours if you want to head back out. Yes, it's still a trade off, but, nowhere near what we've come to expect with electric motorcycles. Also mentioned the most noticeable characteristic when switching back and forth between the Mission One and a standard bike is the total lack of vibration. The electric drive is completely smooth, something that quickly spoils the riders who have had the opportunity to ride it.

Specifications

Powertrain

Battery Pack: High Energy Lithium-Ion w/ Integrated Thermal Management System
Motor: Liquid-cooled, 3-phase AC Induction
Torque: 100 lb-ft @ 0 to 6,500 rpm
Transmission: Single speed

Chassis

Suspension/Front: Ohlins 43mm inverted fork; fully adjustable, 4.5-in travel
Suspension/Rear: Ohlins Single shock w/piggyback reservoir; fully adjustable, 4.5-in travel
Brakes/Front: Dual Brembo 310mm disc; Brembo radial-mount forged 4-piston calipers
Brakes/Rear: Brembo 220mm disc; single-piston caliper
Wheels/Tires/Front: Marchesini forged aluminum 3.5" x 17", 120/70ZR17 - race Compound
Wheels/Tires/Rear: Marchesini forged aluminum 6.0"x17", 190/55ZR17 - race Compound

Target Performance

Top Speed: 150mph
Range: 150 miles per charge (est. EPA drive cycle)
Recharge Time: Under 2 Hours @ 240V (8 Hours @ 120V)
Interactive Feature: Adjustable regenerative rear wheel braking
Interactive Feature: Intuitive / adjustable data acquisition system